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Lions sign marketing deal with University of Toledo

The Detroit Lions said today they have signed a multiyear advertising deal with the University of Toledo, making the football team the third Detroit pro sports team with a marketing relationship with the Rockets.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the Lions; the team issued a statement announcing the relationship this afternoon.

The contract’s spending total has been requested from the university’s communications office. Also requested were details about Toledo’s marketing deals with the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings.

UT doesn’t advertise with the Detroit Pistons.

The Lions deal will include a Toledo sign on the west video scoreboard at Ford Field, the team said. Also, the school and team will jointly develop student education projects applicable to sports business.

“This isn’t just buying advertising. Whether it’s real-world training or other opportunities, we're looking for ways to share the value of a UT education. That message coming alongside the Detroit Lions brand makes it resonate so much more powerfully,” said UT’s Lawrence Burns, vice president for external affairs, in a statement.

Toledo credits its local marketing with the sports teams with helping boost its undergraduate enrollment by Southeastern Michigan students from 860 in 2006 to nearly 1,600 in fall 2013.

The university also has an agreement with Schoolcraft College in Livonia to offer four-year Toledo degrees in certain programs, and it has a monthly radio show called “The Relevant University” on Detroit’s WJR-AM 760.